DoubleUnion
by Wingah
Summary: When a young man falls into the Underground, he finds himself with a familiar but terrible situation. Does he have the strength it will take to defeat the other Human at their own game? Or with he become undone by his past? (Fanfic based off Doubletale, by XWolf26. Enjoy!)
1. Chapter 1: Hold Fast Her Determination

**Why hello! This may seem familiar, but if you didn't know, I wrote WingahTale a long time ago. It's kinda turned into this, so enjoy! Summaries are hard!.**

**I do not own Undertale or Doubletale.**

* * *

Shimmering petals in the bright white light.

That's what I happened to wake up to, that "Oh-So-Infamous" morning.

My name is Carter Hounds.

That's the first thing I remembered. "Carter Hounds", a mechanic in my hometown, and…

…

Well, at least my brain hasn't been scrambled. That seems to happen in these types of stories.

The second thing I remembered is just how much pain hurts. My entire body was aching with the pain that comes with falling down a fifty-foot hole.

… And I was in a hole… Why?

"Am I dead?" I asked myself out loud.

*You think you're not dead. A text box above my head read.

"Well, if I'm not, then I'm crazy." I replied back, before sitting up, despite my body screaming out in pain as I did so.

Thinking about it, this was more than a cave than a hole. It was giving me some sorta… Wild sense of deja vu.

Weird.

I felt myself over for injury, before finding a small, black knife in my pocket.

**Pocket Knife:**

**Snik. +5 ATK**.

"... well, isn't that reassuring?"

*No. No it is not.

I gazed up to the hole in the ceiling. The radiating light was the only thing filling the cavern.

*You wonder where you are.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Hold Fast Her Determination**

"Is this your game? Or mine?"

* * *

I'm not entirely sure how long I sat there, staring up at the bright light. I suppose I should've been panicking, or crying, or any number of things that people do when they're in a strange place that they didn't know. Instead, I felt… Content. Calm.

… It's been awhile since I felt that way.

*You feel the sudden urge to get off your ass.

I rolled my eyes, standing up. It felt like every bone in my body was trying to resist, but I pushed forward. I stumbled through the purple gate that led to a small mound in the ground. Recognizing but not processing, I walked past it without much thought.

Then I walked through a second purple gate, and my eyes were met with the sight of large, stone steps leading to a doorway in the wall, high above my head. The entire room was made of purple bricks, lending to this almost video-game-y feel.

My eyes drifted down to a pile of striking red leaves, and, just above it…

A familiarly shining, golden star. My body was pulled to it, and I found my hand stretching out to meet it. The feeling to keep moving, to keep pushing forward, grew in my chest.

Ding!

*My DETERMINATION flows through you. You saved the game.

"... 'My' DETERMINATION?"

*...

I looked up the set of steps, and noticed some unnaturally dusty footprints leading to the steps just beside me.

Somehow, I felt like this journey was only just beginning.

* * *

Wood creaked under my feet as I entered Toriel's empty house. The walls, although stone from the outside, were lined with a wood finish, giving the whole house a calm, home-y feel. A nice piano tune floated in from what felt like thin air, and if it weren't for the distinct emptiness of the rest of The Ruins, I might've actually been at ease.

I did a quick sweep of the house. No giant goats, no demon children.

I stuffed as much as the butterscotch pie into my inventory as I could, ignoring the only piece of armor I had on.

**Cracked Locket:**

**. . .**

My text box's silence about the topic had me curious, but not concerned. I didn't really want to think about the story behind it, either.

Ignoring the heavy feeling in my heart, I trudged forward, down in the basement.

It started to get colder and colder, and I carefully zipped up my hoodie, as to make as little noise as possible. It was an old one, black with gray sleeves, red pockets with a red hood.

*Deep worry seeps into your SOUL.

I saw the pile of dust on the ground, mixed in with the snow that was blowing in through the door.

"I'd call it a little more than worry, Texty." I said, beating down the outright fear in my heart.

* * *

"God I hate snow." I said, stomping through the shallow snow in my low-cut sneakers. The snow seeped into my socks, making it literally Hell to walk through Snowdin.

Why couldn't I have been wearing boots whenever I got sucked into this Hellish game?

I heard a hellish scream off in the distance. I swallowed my lunch.

Or, dinner? What was the last thing I ate?

*You believe that's the least of your problems.

I nodded. "We need to come up with a plan to beat the kid."

*Agreed.

"Any suggestions, Texty? Or are you just gonna be cryptic?"

*I think I'm done with being cryptic.

I blinked in surprise.

*Haven't you seen this scenario before? In something you've read?

I frowned. Yeah, the situation did seem familiar. Almost like I've been here before, and yet…

"In any case, I should be able to beat the kid in a brawl, right? I mean, I've taken self-defense classes, and they're, what, ten? Eleven?"

*I'm gonna call CPS on you.

I snickered at Texty. "Loook, they're a murderer, I think I'm-"

"God dammit, why is this thing so tough to KILL?"

I froze in place. I wasn't paying attention to how fast I was going. Ducking into the trees, I watched as The Human wailed repeatedly on Jerry.

"... Somehow, I don't feel bad." I whispered to Texty.

*The unstoppable force versus the immovable object.

I think it was supposed to be funny, but it only pulled at some sort of familiar memory in my head.

Frisk growled, leaping at Jerry and pinning him to the ground with their foot. They lifted their toy knife into the air, stabbing the monster repeatedly in the head.

"Aw, man…" The monster faded to silver, drifting onto Frisk's clothes. They were a lot taller than what I would've estimated. I would've had to of been stupid to think they were younger than sixteen or seventeen.

***Your LOVE has increased!**

*This is pretty accurate to your headcanon…

I blushed, hiding deeper in the bushes. "Shut it…"

Frisk moved on, grabbing the tough glove and pulling it over their hand on their way out of the pathway.

*Don't stop now. Check to see if there's a phone number.

"I… Oh. Right."

Instead of going straight on the path, I decided to take the left. There was a fishing pole, with a phone number attached!

"Oh, cool!" I said, bending down and reading it.

"555-432-5672."

*LOOK OUT!

I whipped around, stumbling backward, almost into the river.

*Red eyes.

I've seen that red before. I see that red, every single day, when I look in the mirror. It's duller, less prominent, but I remember it.

Beyond that, the vibrancy of the eyes reminded me of someone I'd known before.

"..." Frisk blinked with their beautiful, crimson eyes. My eyes were locked with theirs, in a staring contest of DETERMINATION. I couldn't breath. I couldn't move.

"You aren't supposed to be here."

Their hand covered in the tough glove curled into a fist.

_*Carter, please, now's not-_

For a moment, Frisk's image flickered. I couldn't tell if it was in my head or if it really happened, but just for a moment, I could see a girl, just shorter than me. Her short-cut hair and her burning red eyes. My heart pounded in my chest in a slim hope that they were her.

"Hm." Their lips curved into a slight smile. "What kind of look is that? You look like you've seen a ghost. It's not inaccurate, but…"

Their lips were moving, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Instead, it was a girl, sternly scolding me for getting grease on my best shirt.

They paused. "... Are you ignoring me…?" They scowled, but I couldn't see. I couldn't think. "Are you stupid?"

"Ugh. This is why I hate humans." Frisk said coldly. "No way to make this encounter interesting. Just staring like I just murdered your mother."

They slowly reeled their fist back, grinning evilly.

"You're all so _predictable!_"

Like I said. Pain _hurts._

Suddenly, I was on the ground, blood seeping from my broken nose. I was almost over the edge of the river. They had completely floored me with a single punch. Fortunately, it also brought me back to the real world.

_*Carter. FOCUS._

Frisk stomped through the snow, creeping towards me with a grin that made my heart thump in fear. They grabbed my shirt, pulling me to their face with a snarl.

"Now that I think about it…" They spoke, pulling back their fist. "I don't think I've ever gotten to kill a human before."

"Yeah, well…" I said, spawning my knife from my inventory, "Today's your lucky day."

They blinked, obviously surprised by my sudden willingness to speak, and I pulled my feet to my chest, putting more weight on their hand and pulling them downward. I planted my feet on Frisk's chest, kicking them over my head and forcing them to desperately grab the ledge so they didn't fall into the water.

I gripped my knife in my hand, attempting to stab into their hand to force them to let go. Unfortunately, they were able to forcefully grab my wrist one hand, flipping me around and flinging me into the freezing water.

"_DON'T YOU __**DARE **__COME BACK!"_

Shatter.

* * *

_Burning. Fire._

_Screams._

_Something falls on me. I can't move. I can't breath. There's smoke everywhere._

_Something flashes in my vision. A crazed boy, white hair, with a crowbar in his hand._

"_It's been taken care of." He says to no one. He smashes a crowbar through a window, and leaps out._

_A girl. Long, black hair. She dashes just past me, before stopping when she notices me._

_She thinks for a second, before using something to slash above whatever was laying on me. Suddenly the weight is gone._

_She looks at me. Icy blue eyes._

_I hate them._

_They took everything from me._

* * *

Flash.

_*You died! Congrats._

"I don't particularly like freezing to death, Texty." I spoke, laying back and staring up at the blackness that was the top of the Underground. Now that I thought about it, the snow didn't seem so cold anymore.

_*You might want to get moving. _

"Dude, I'm not exactly gung-ho about jumping back into the arms about a knife-wielding maniac. I need a plan."

I sighed. What could beat them, though? Obviously I had the power to SAVE and RESET, so theoretically I may just be able to RESET the timeline and jump them when they're much weaker.

… But I showed up mid-way through a Genocide Run, not when it started. By the time I woke up again, Frisk would be midway through The Ruins already. Fighting them wasn't exactly an option, either. The more LOVE they collected, the stronger they became…

_*The knowledge of what's going to happen… It fills me with DETERMINATION._

I blinked. Why would that…

"Oh. Ohhh…"

I grinned, getting to my feet.

"I may have an idea."

* * *

I carefully navigated my way through the dense forest of Snowdin. If I was gonna pull this off, I was going to need to be careful. After dashing past the initial meeting with Papyrus and Sans and the rock joke and all that, I came out the other side of the woods, covered in twigs and leaves. I had to pull out the twigs from my jacket and the leaves in my hair, but, past that, it wasn't too bad.

I kept trudging forward, keeping ahead of Frisk and the Skeleton Brothers, going around the puzzles that I didn't have the time to go through. My best bet to get anywhere with getting stronger would probably be in the True Lab, and if I was going to get anywhere, I was going to need to get there ahead of Frisk.

Suddenly there was a presence behind me. I don't know how I could tell, but the best way I could describe was as if the air around me had collapsed in on a singular point just behind me.

I whipped around, spawning my pocket knife from my inventory and aiming it at the unknown source…

"woah!" The short skeleton gasped out, putting his hands out in a "woah hold up" gesture. "No need to point a knife at me, kid."

I took a breath in, putting the knife away. "Uh, sorry," I said lamely, "I thought you were The Human for a second."

Sans fake-chuckled, slowly putting his hands in his pockets, his eyelights looking me up and down. Suddenly I felt _very_ exposed.

"You seem new 'round these parts." Sans hinted, winking with one eye. "Any particular reason for that?"

I translated that as, "Hey, you've never been here for a RESET, how'd you get here?" to which I answered,

"Uh, no, not really. I just, uh," I stuttered, "Fell down a hole."

Actually, the last thing I remembered before getting here was laying face down in my bed for the third week in a row.

Sans shrugged. "Well, whatever, you seem capable enough to find your way around." He began walking away, beginning to lift his hand in a half-hearted wave. He was walking away.

Something clicked in my head. Maybe he could help me get around faster! If anybody could do it, it was him. I just needed to stop him from walking away.

Naturally, I reached out and grabbed his shoulder. He paused completely, not moving in the slightest. Almost unnaturally so.

Was he… Unused to being touched?

I quickly withdrew my hand. "Sorry, I just…"

He turned towards me. Slowly. His eyelights seemed dimmer than normal.

"I need your help."

Sans' lazy grin seemed harsher than normal, before heavy footsteps seemed to approach us. It seemed like Papyrus had finished what he was doing. Sans looked at me for a moment, and for the second time in only a few moments, I felt completely exposed.

"... Okay. Fine. But we have to go somewhere a little more private." He grabbed my shoulder, and the world dropped from below my feet.

Taking a "shortcut" is a feeling that's really hard to describe. It's not like you're in one place one moment and another the next, no. It's more like the world moves around you at a blazingly fast paced, while simultaneously dissolving into an unrecognizable substance, just before rematerializing back into something actually distinguishable. I could actually recognize the place now.

"Are.. We at Grillby's bar?" I said, dumbfounded and a little numb from the new feeling. The bar was calm, inviting, but rather… Empty. Booths lined the right side of the building, and a single table covered in playing cards sat, unoccupied.

Sans raised an eyebrow at me for a moment, assessing how I knew who Grillby was and how I knew that he owned a bar.

"So…" Sans said, light surrounding us. Or, more accurately, everything else was covered in darkness past a slight radius just beyond us two. Somehow, here, I felt simultaneously more protected and more exposed. "... You plannin' on handling The Human, right?"

_*Tell the truth. I can always bring us back if things go sideways._

_That's what I was going to do._ I told my Text Box.

"If I can, yeah." I said solemnly, as Sans and I took a seat at the bar. "Little shit's got a mean streak, though. Threw me into a river."

Sans chuckled at my literal death, perhaps unknowingly, before moving on. "So you're saying you're not strong enough."

"Basically."

Sans looked at me curiously. "How're you planning on handling that, huh? It seems that if you were to look at the facts, you have no way to get stronger on your own." He shrugged, his eyelights gliding over to me, piercing into my SOUL, perhaps literally.

"I don't…"

_*Something pulls at you. An idea you've read about before._

"... well, I have one idea." I mumbled.. "Granted, it's a VERY bad one."

"Like what?"

"... Well, magic is typically really strong, right?" I started, and I could see recognition in his eyelights.

"Yeah…?" He asked hesitantly. He seemed to pick up what I was putting down.

"Well, what if we were to, say," I swallowed a lump in my throat. "Take the dust of the monsters, who, mind you, are made of magic…"

"And infuse me with it?"

He paused for a moment. "... Nah. Wouldn't work."

I frowned. "Why not?"

Sans shrugged again. "There's not enough dead monsters lying around for you to just take them all and give yourself superpowers, bud. Unless you're suggesting you wait until after the human kills everyone else in the Underground, which, lemme tell ya," He paused, turning his neck towards me with empty eye sockets, "Is a terrible idea, considering **everyone would die**."

Sans swung on his stool, taking a step off and walking away, color returning to the world. "Anyway, I think we're done here."

"Wait!" I yelled, trying to stop him, but he was already almost out the door. I dashed after him. "It might just work, if we just-!"

Suddenly, a scream rang out from the Eastern side of Snowdin. Fear filled my SOUL. Sans' sockets went empty. The scream was loud, a little high-pitched, and echoed throughout the whole of the cavern.

_**Papyrus.**_


	2. Chapter 2: A Human's Condition

_Crunch crunch crunch._

The Human stood across from the tall Skeleton. He was talking. He was saying something.

The Human didn't care.

As Papyrus closed in on his inevitable end, he took a good, long look at his life.

Papyrus knew it was coming. He knew The Human would hurt him. The Human would dust him.

Papyrus gave it his all. He threw everything he had into his speech. But, inevitably..

_SLASH._

Papyrus's head came clean off, landing with a soft _puff_ in the snow.

Frisk grinned, lifting their foot.

The only thing Papyrus could do was scream as his head was crushed under the weight of their boot.

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

**A Human's Condition.**

"_I wasn't sure what I was wanting to do. Maybe I was trying to end it all. But then I fell in here."_

* * *

My feet carried me into the long bridge stretching between Snowdin and Waterfall. My head on a swivel, I called out the name that carried me through so much.

"PAPYRUS! PAPYRUS!"

I ran forward, slipping on something in the snow and landing with a small _oof_.

I looked at what I slipped on. Something soft and orange.

"Oh… Oh, no…"

Sans appeared across from me, the air warping subtly around him. His eyes were dark.

"..."

I knew this was probably the wrong time to do this, but…

"... I could've stopped this." I said quietly, gently picking up Papyrus's scarf. "If I had the ability. The power."

Sans was silent.

"Please. If you'd just let-"

Suddenly, my SOUL was no longer the usual violet. It was blue.

I heard a _SLASH_ just before Sans threw his arm upward, sending me soaring into the air, the wind taken right out of me, preventing me from screaming.

As I fell back to the ground, I landed on someone just shorter than me.

"Get OFF!" The Human yelled, standing and throwing me off, forcing me to land with an "oof!" just behind them.

I scrambled to my feet, spawning my knife out of my inventory and flicking it open.

"You wanna go again, bitch?!" I yelled, adrenaline pumping through my veins.

I glanced just past them. No Sans.

No help.

I grit my teeth, staring at them, red eyes to red eyes.

"... Yeah. I think I do." They said, flipping the toy knife around in their hand. Something about them seemed… Different. The glint in their eyes wasn't theirs.

They leaped at me, faster than they were before. I was barely able to move out of the way before they landed, spun, and leapt at me again. I wasn't able to do anything this time before they grabbed me, tackling me to the ground, arm over my neck.

They raised their knife, and I lifted my feet, kicking them in the stomach and flipping them over my head. I blindly grabbed my knife, flipping around and stabbing in their general direction. My knife landed true; stabbing right into their shoulder with a wet stab. Gross.

**-5. 35/40.**

They barely reacted, leaping to their feet and tearing my knife out of their shoulder. Blood dripped down their shoulder, into the snow. I got up similarly, shifting my weight onto my back foot.

They may have had the power, but I had the technique.

They flung their arm wildly at me, and I ducked to the side, popping my arm out for a swift jab to the jaw.

**-2.**

_*It's combo time!_

I followed the jab up with a cross right to the side of the head, before grabbing the human by their ears and forcing their forehead into my knee. My knee now up to my chest, I kicked them in the stomach, following it up by switching my feet and hitting them with a swift roundhouse right to their temple.

**-3.**

**-7.**

**-1.**

**-5.**

_*Finish them, Carter!_

I grinned, pulling back both fists and punching them in the chest, knocking them fully off their feet, before grabbing their shirt, swinging around and slamming their head into the snow with all my strength. Pulling back my foot, I swung it as hard as I could for the finishing blow!

**-15.**

_*ULLLLTRAAA COMBOOOOO!_

**5/40 HP.**

I grinned, pressing my thumb against the side of my nose and flicking it to the side. "HA! Try recovering from THAT!"

Distracted in my gloating, I didn't notice the fact that the human had, yes, recovered, and threw my own knife right into my chest with a gross _thunk!_

**5/19.**

I stumbled back, stumbling backward, my feet crossing over, just before I fell to the ground.

**4/19.**

My HP dropped, the knife deeper in my chest now that I was staring up at the ceiling. The Human stood above me, chewing something in their mouth. By the frosting around their lips, I'd wager it was a Cinnamon Bunny.

**40/40.**

I couldn't move. I could barely think. The human knelt at my side, taking the tip of the knife and gently pushing it further into my chest.. This time, I screamed, unrestrained, the muscles in my neck tensing up as the ear-piercing sound punctured the air, echoing throughout Snowdin, and probably into Waterfall.

**3/19.**

"... hm." The Human hummed quietly. "... I don't think I'll kill you. Yet."

They ripped the knife out of my chest violently.

**1/19.**

"I'd just have to kill Papyrus again, wouldn't I? Then you'd have a chance to stop me." They said, toying with my knife, my blood dripping from it. If I didn't have a stab wound in my chest, I'd have gagged.

"You're a good fighter, Carter. I'll give you that. But if there's one thing you'll never be able to do…"

The leaned down, grinning wildly. It was a familiar grin. Evil. Wide. Like nothing made them happier than killing.

**=)**

"**You'll never be able to stop me." **Chara said, before standing, pulling something out of their inventory and throwing it, the object landing on my stomach. They turned and walked away, taking my knife with them.

_*Carter! They threw a Cinnabun at you! You need to eat it!_

I couldn't move. My body wouldn't respond. If I moved, then I would damage the wound, and I would die for the second time today. Maybe I should've, out of spite, but my body physically wouldn't let me.

I stared blankly into the sky.

… Then I lost control in a different way. My eyes blinked without my knowledge nor consent. My arm moved, gently, grabbing the Cinnabun with as much strength as the unfamiliar presence could force out of my fingers, before bringing it, dripping with Cinnamon and Blood, to my mouth, shoving it in and forcing my jaw to chew.

The wound in my chest immediately healed, the only sign I was ever damaged being the hole in my shirt and the dried blood around my chest. My body shot up without my consent, stopping, then I regained control.

"I… You can do that…?"

_*Apparently. I had to try, considering that Chara could._

"That's reassuring," I groaned, slowly getting to my feet, "Considering the fact that you're both DETERMINATION souls."

_*I think you were, once upon a time._

"Maybe." I said quietly, before stretching. The wound may have gone, but the ghost of the pain remained. It felt good to stretch that pain out. Almost cathartic.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an orange scarf. It was sad, honestly. I would've liked to meet Papyrus.

I knelt down, gently picking up the scarf.

_*Would he root for you? _

I didn't respond. I put the scarf into my inventory, before standing, staring into Waterfall as the cold wind gently blew my hair. I'm sure it would've been a Papyrus worthy image.

"I'm late! I'm late!"

I frowned, turning around, only to see a short lizard bolting towards me. My scarlet eyes widened, just before I took a step out of the way.

"Out of the waaay!"

The lizard yelled, before tripping, falling flat on his face. I laughed to myself.

"You alright, kid?" I asked Monster Kid. He was never particularly one of my favorites, but I liked him enough.

After pulling his head out of the snow, he yelled, "Yeah! Oh! Oh! Are you going to see Undyne too?"

"No, I-" I tried to interrupt, before MK pulled me along by my arm with his tail, into the murky waters of Waterfall, my feet fumbling as I tried to catch my own balance.

"Come on! We can still catch her if we run!"

* * *

"Come on, dude! We have to catch her!"

I frowned in annoyance, reaching my hand to the SAVE point next to Sans's post. It was cute at first, but the constant insistence that I follow him into my death was starting to get on my nerves. Besides, I had to get back in contact with Sans. I hadn't seen him since I fought Chara, and, honestly, I was going to need to dump Monster Kid somewhere. But where could Sans be? Once you kill Papyrus, Sans disappears until you reach Judgement Hall.

"Duuuude!" MK yelled, "Undyne could be beating up bad guys!"

My eye twitched.

_*Come on, Carter… He's not so bad._

I ignored my text box, turning to MK with the fakest smile I think I've ever made.

"Hey! How about this…" I said in a fake-cheery voice. I was trying not to hurt his feelings, but he was starting to get on my nerves. "You go ahead and see if you can find Undyne! I've… Got some stuff to do here, so I'll catch up in a bit."

MK thought for less than a second, before turning back to me, beaming, a huge smile pointed directly at me.

_*He's got a gap in his teeth, like you do._

_Shut up._

"Alright! I'll see you later, Dude!"

MK ran off, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Heya."

I jumped, whirling around, my feet getting twisted around each other, causing me to lose my balance and fall into the mud.

"Oh. Hey, Sans."

"So, I was thinking it over." The small skeleton said, his voice heavy. "Maybe your idea of infusing yourself with magic isn't so terrible. But, listen,"

He looked at me, his eyelights dim. "We don't exactly have enough of that power just lying around, y'know. And if we did, by the time we got all the magic collected and working, The Human would be at the King. I'm assuming you know what happens after that."

I nodded. Game Over.

"So, we need a distraction. Someone to keep them busy while Alphys and I get the stuff ready."

I cocked a brow. "You've talked with Alphys about this already?"

Sans nodded. "So, we need you to keep them busy for a bit. A couple of hours, at the very least."

_*That's a great idea, considering how your last two fights with them went._

I nodded, looking down. "I can keep them distracted. MK's probably with them by now, so I can probably catch up with those two and slow them down a bit…"

My eyes widened a little. "... and maybe I can keep them distracted even longer." I turned fully to Sans. "Hey, can you get me to the spot with a bunch of tall leaves, the one where Undyne grabs Frisk?"

Sans looked at me, confused. "Frisk…?"

"You know, the one right before the place with the blue lakes and the bird."

Sans seemed a little confused, but nodded as he grabbed my shoulder, the air warping around us as we took a shortcut.

* * *

We dropped to the spot I was thinking of, and I nodded to Sans. "Thanks. I'll be here for a minute as I wait for them to catch up."

Sans nodded, the air around him warping, before he was gone. Oddly, the grass that I was just realizing we were standing in was warped around where he was, too. It looked cool.

"Get back here you little freak!"

_Right on cue._

Frisk sprinted into the grass, and I stood my ground as their eyes widened, slamming into me, before falling flat on their ass. They looked up at me.

"You…?"

I knelt beside them, hiding in the grass, staring at them with murder in my eyes. I looked up, watching a small, yellow lizard be lifted up by his head, his feet dangling weakly. Undyne had grabbed him, but he'll be fine.

Undyne put him down, before walking away, Undyne's boots thumping loudly as she stormed away.

We stayed still for a couple seconds, before Frisk tried to get up. I pushed them back down with a smirk, before standing and walking out of the grass.

"YOOOOO!" MK yelled, his high voice hurting my ears, "UNDYNE JUST… TOUCHED ME!"

_*Awe, he's adorable._

_Is he, though? Is he really?_

"Yeah, that's really cool, MK." I stated simply, standing next to them as Frisk walked out of the grass.

"I'm sure you'll never wash your face again." They said sarcastically, beginning to walk right past us. I grabbed their shoulder.

"Dude, hold on. Wait up for MK! I'm sure he wants to hang with ya."

"Yeah!" MK said excitedly. "You seem like a cool fellow!"

Frisk's frown deepened, but they knew they couldn't refuse. Being rude to MK could mess up their run later on. For now, they had to suffer through it.

"... Okay." They said, grinning fakely. They were putting on a nicer persona, that was good.

We began walking, easily the weirdest trio of people on this planet.

* * *

"Woah…" I said, my eyes bright at the glittering water surrounding us. It was so… Serene. So peaceful. My mind felt at ease.

Or, it would've, had I not had a homicidal maniac literally right next to me. MK grinned, looking like he was ecstatic to show someone around the underground for the first time. Somehow, it seemed that he hadn't caught on that I wasn't a monster, yet. That was good.

Frisk frowned, before looking around. "... I guess it's a little pretty." They shrugged. "You get used to it after seeing it so often, though."

"I would imagine. I haven't been around as much as you two, though." I stated.

"Where are you from, anyway?" Frisk asked, smirking. I glared. They were trying to blow my cover.

"A, uh… Big city. Pretty, uh… _Different_ from around here." Frisk's eyes snapped towards me in interest.

"Oh, like New Home?" MK asked, and I glanced to the side.

"Yeah, something like that."

We began walking, the odd monster here or there popping out of nowhere to greet us. I didn't even consider that… They'd have to go back and kill them, later. Perfect.

MK chatted with the odd monster here or there, introducing Frisk and I to them. The monsters seemed freaked out, but seemed to calm down once they saw that Frisk and I were "Friendly."

We passed through the rest of the blue-laked area, the ceiling beginning to leak water. I was the first to grab an umbrella, the three of us sharing with me in the middle. It was quiet, and nice. If I closed my eyes, I could almost imagine that the three of us were friends, travelling together.

_*It reminds you of a simpler time. A longing to go back. _

_*... I wish I could go back, too._

I took a deep breath, looking at Frisk. They stared straight ahead.

Silently, to no one besides myself, I wished we could be friends. That I could've fallen down under different circumstances.

How would that have gone, I wonder?

Would I be different? The same? Would I end up how I am now, walking with Frisk and MK through the underground? Or would I be much more… Violent?

It was doubtful, but not impossible. I did have a mean streak, out there.

_*But even then, you were kind when it counted._

"..."

"So…" Frisk quietly started, "A big city, huh? What was it like?"

I blinked in surprise. Frisk was actually trying to make small talk…?

MK seemed confused, but stayed quiet.

"... Yeah." I answered honestly. "Big place. Lots of buildings and such." I frowned. "It was a really busted-up place. Overran by gangs."

Frisk stayed quiet. For the moment, it was just the two of us in a void of honesty.

"The biggest one stayed in a mansion in the 'nice' part of the city. They did whatever they wanted, and whatever others wanted them to do, for a price." I stared at the ground, pain from the familiar memories overtaking my mind.

"... They took everything from me." I said bitterly, imagining the four leaders of the gang in horrible, mangled situations. Twisted and dead in the most horrific ways I could imagine. They deserved it.

"..." Frisk was silent for a moment.

"... I grew up in a big city, too." They said simply. Sadly.

"It wasn't as bad as yours, but…" They looked to the side, sadly looking at the ground. "It was still run down. My family wasn't the happiest. Mom died when I was young."

"... Dad, he…" Frisk stopped themself. "Wasn't… The greatest. So, I… Ran."

"To mount Ebott." I finished for them. They nodded.

"I wasn't sure what I was wanting to do. Maybe I was trying to end it all. But then I fell in here."

I stayed silent. I can see why they'd be unhappy no matter what happened. If they went back to the city, they'd run the risk of being stuck with their birth parents again. So they keep Resetting. It was an escape for them.

_*What a familiar story._

"So… You two are humans?" MK asked. "... It sounds like being a Human kinda sucks."

Frisk and I looked at MK, then back at each other. We laughed. Real. Genuine. It was… A nice moment.

"It does, MK! Oh my _God_ it does!" We kept laughing, like MK made the best joke in the world."

"Ohhh…" Frisk smiled. "It's so nice to smile again."

Smiling didn't last long. We reached the ledge, the one MK usually had to help the player up with.

We got to the top of the ledge. MK left. We were alone, on the ledge.

"... you can stop, you know." I said simply. "You can turn back."

"... No. I can't." Frisk said. "I'm too far in to turn back now."

"But you can RESET. Please." I begged. "If you do… You can change all this! You can be better."

Frisk shook their head. "No. I don't have that power anymore. It was taken from me."

"..."

"I'm going to lose control, soon. It won't be long now." Frisk looked at me, pulling my knife out of my inventory and handing it to me. I took it gently, flicking it open. They cleaned it. "Beat them, Carter. I know you can."

_*Check._

_*Frisk. 4 ATK. 5 DEF._

_*A kind human with a SOUL filled with DETERMINATION. _

"... Okay. I will."

Frisk jumped off the ledge, mud spraying around them. They looked back at me. The red in their eye… It was different. Darker.

_*Check._

_*Chara. 4 ATK. 5 DEF._

_*An evil human with a SOUL filled with DETERMINATION._

Chara trudged away, their boots trudging through the mud. Soon after, I heard screams in the distance.

_***The grind's back on. **_


	3. Chapter 3: For Monster Kid

**Man, I am just AWFUL at updating, aren't I? Have a new chapter!**

* * *

_Ding._

"God DAMMIT!" I yelled, diving out of the way of another spear that was about to impale me for possibly the fifth time today. This minigame was NOT this hard back in-

_*Carter!_

"Right!" I yelled, leaping from one rickety wooden bridge to another. If I just kept running, then I'd probably be fine, right?

Undyne threw an arm up, blue circles temporarily encasing me as Undyne attempted to stop him in my tracks. Unperturbed, I jumped right over the circles, the spears just barely missing me.

_*You'd think she'd realize that you and the other human look nothing alike._

"I really don't think she cares!" I responded, just barely dodging another spear. I kept charging forward, expecting it to end soon-

_*STOP!_

All of a sudden, my legs locked up, forcing me to plummet forward, falling flat on my face as I skidded on the ground.

"What was THAT-?" I began to ask, before seeing that I was right about to run off a dead-end. Shit.

I heard metal boots stomp behind me, and I spun around, sitting on my butt as Undyne towered above me. She was fucking _terrifying._

"S-So, hey, would you consider, you know, _not_ killing me?" I asked her nicely.

Spears appeared above me, glowing blue and pointed directly at me.

"... I'm guessing that's a no…?" I asked quietly, closing my eyes, assuming I would hear the familiar shatter at any point now…

_ ._

_*Did you forget that Undyne broke the bridge?_

The weakened boards held for only a moment as it separated from the core part of the bridge. Honestly, I was unsure if I could survive this fall. My stomach dropped as the board began to fall out from under me, my hands desperately clawing at anything that could possibly save me from this fall. Unfortunately, there was nothing there, so, as I dropped into the inky blackness, no hope that anybody would save me…

I screamed.

"_**AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**_"

* * *

"_Hey! Be careful, you don't want to hurt yourself more."_

"_Carter, huh? That's a nice name!"_

"_My n a me i s . . ."_

* * *

**Chapter 3: For Monster Kid**

* * *

_Fucking Traitor._

My text box stayed silent about the assessment of my dream.

I ran my hands over my face, the water from a nearby waterfall gently making the boards I was laying on bob on the water. It was almost pleasant, if I wasn't painfully aware that this water was garbage water. Ew.

I sat up, the back of my head dripping with murky water onto the back of my hood.

_*This gross dump reminds you of home. _

"Fair enough." I told Texty, swinging my legs over and into the gross water.

"..."

_*Looks like a Mad Dummy's up ahead._

I groaned. Maybe running ahead of Chara was a bad idea.

* * *

_*Being out of that dump… It fills me with DETERMINATION._

"Wish I could say the same." I stated, glad that SAVE Points cleaned water out of my shoes. Fortunately, Mad Dummy turned into Glad Dummy, so I could just walk past him. Unfortunately, that means he's just wide open for Chara to come charging through later. Not a whole lot I could do about that, though.

I kept moving down a muddy hallway, stopping at Gerson's shop.

"Wah hah!" He laughed. "Yer the first human I've seen down here in awhile, kid!"

I grinned sheepishly. "Uh, yeah, I guess I am."

Huh. He had a Deltarune carved into his wall. It called to me, somehow. As something that should be destroyed.

I shook my head.

"Hey, uh, sorry, you sell stuff, right?"

"No need to apologize!" He said, waving a hand towards his stock. "Pick out whatever ya like! If you have the gold, ya can have anythin' here!"

I came out a few minutes later wearing a new pair of cracked specks and three gallons of Sea Tea. Worth it. I adjusted the glasses, grinning.

"A save point…?" I asked myself, approaching a part of the cave that led onto a bridge in a wide-open area. I SAVED.

I carefully stepped onto the bridge. It didn't feel safe in the _slightest._

I gathered whatever DETERMINATION I had in my SOUL, taking another step. Then another.

_Hey, this isn't so bad! It's just a bridge._

I grinned goofily to myself, continuing onward like I was the King of the World. It was a simple victory, but I never was the best with heights. Besides, I fell, what, three-hundred feet earlier? I think I could tank whatever was at the bottom of this chasm.

_*Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that._

I rolled my eyes.

The tapping of feet behind me. I looked to where it was coming from.

_Oh, great. It's MK._

"H-Hey!" MK greeted me, breathing heavily, "I-I wanted to see if I could catch up! Y-You wanted to see Undyne with me, right?'

He sweated nervously. Something wasn't right. I squinted at him, "MK, you good? You don't seem like yourself."

His pupils widened. "N-No! I'm fine, really, I just, uh…"

He gulped, "I-I feel a little nervous, with the… Y'know… Other Human, around."

I smiled sympathetically. "Hey, it's al-"

Suddenly my body moved without any of my input, sprinting forward and tackling MK to the ground, yelling "Get down!" in a voice that was just a little higher than mine. Something soared just over our heads.

"Well, aren't you observant?" A voice said from above us. Shielding MK, the person controlling me looked up at Chara. My body pulled MK a little closer to my chest, as I glared at Chara.

My right eye twitched. "Go away. This is between you and I - Leave MK out of it."

Chara shrugged. "While you're correct," they began, kicking me in the face, jarring Texty's control back to me. I growled, standing and pulling out my Pocket Knife, flicking it open.

Chara tapped their foot, a little switchblade popping out of their shoe. They pointed their toe at MK, the blade just inches from his face. MK was sweating.

_*Where is Undyne? Shouldn't she be here by now?_

The grip on my knife tightened. I wasn't sure, but I couldn't bank on her to save MK. I had to do something.

I took a step, and Chara lifted their foot, a threat. They smirked slightly

_Maybe it's best to retreat. _I thought. _Maybe they'll spare him if we just… Stay out of the way?_

_*What?! No! They could hurt MK, we can't let that happen!_

Control was briefly taken away from me, but I yanked back the reins before I lost them completely.

_If we go any closer he'll DIE!_

_*Yeah?! And if we leave, he dies anyway! At least this way, we have a chance!_

I struggled to keep control. There was no way I was going to be able to keep Texty down much longer. I had to do something.

I took a step back to pivot the other way, but control was wrestled away from me just in time, Texty instead using the opportunity to get a running start at Chara. My finger flicked open the Switchblade, as my feet leapt.

Chara was caught off-guard, but that didn't stop them. They caught me with surprising grace. LOVE is one hell of a drug, I suppose, because they caught my full 190 pounds with one hand, my breath being taken away from me.

They grinned, pivoting their foot…

SLASH.

_***NO!**_

I growled, using my feet to kick their chest, sending them stumbling as I landed flat on my back, right in front of MK. I scrambled to my knees, looking at the poor massacre.

"No, _wait_, I didn't-"

He looked terrible. A slash across his face, from the top right corner of his head, to the bottom left corner of his chin. It was cut deep. He was gone before I had hit the ground.

"MK, I'm sorry-" I started, before he turned to dust. I reached out, but there was nothing to grab, nothing to hold, nothing to say sorry to. Tears filled my eyes.

"I should've… I should've treated you better. Maybe, m-maybe then, you wouldn't… You…"

Tears fell down my face, into the dust. It shouldn't have ended this way. I should've been able to save him.

Chara grinned. They _grinned._ They just murdered someone and they were… What? Amused _HAPPY?_

I snarled, I grabbed my pocket knife, tried to rush at them, but I couldn't get up fast enough. They swiftly kick-stabbed me in the chest.

**-18.**

I fell backward, right into the dust. I might've been disgusted if I wasn't nearly dying. I looked up at them, still grinning.

They brought their foot up, ready to finish me off, before something soared over me, blocking the final blow. My vision faded, lights dancing on the edges of my peripherie as I watched someone clad in metal take a knee. I couldn't hear what she said, but something started glowing as I was whisked away.

* * *

My groggy eyes struggled to open, the world nothing but a blurry brightness as I tried to focus on something that wasn't the gnawing pain in my chest. I couldn't move, not in the slightest.

"O-Oh!" Alphys exclaimed, but my eyes didn't move. I tried to lift my arm to access my inventory, but it was so difficult. My mouth felt dry. "Y-You're awake!"

_*Carter!_

I couldn't focus on the text box. Everything was so fuzzy.

"H-Here! I'll get you some water!" The poor, plump lizard stood and rushed to something nearby. I couldn't do anything but stare at the ceiling, the boring greenish blue helping me focus. I had to get my inventory open, I was going to die _again_ if I didn't-

Alphys reappeared at my bedside, but I ignored the water she attempted to pour down my throat.

"M-My… Inven… Tory…"

"W-What?"

"Need the… Pie…"

"Wait, you s-shouldn't be eating, you could-"

Slowly, I lifted my arm, limply grabbing her sleeve. She jumped, but seemed intent on listening.

"_** .**_"

Alphys paused, before nodding quickly, grabbing my phone from the table next to the bed I was stuck to, clacking a few buttons before a Butterscotch-Cinnamon pie appeared in her hand, and she offered it to me gingerly.

I weakly took the food, slowly bringing it to my tongue, before taking the thick end and shoving the pie in all the way.

I groggily sat up. While I physically felt fine, mentally I felt awful. It felt like my skull was pounding in regret and sadness.

"O-Oh! You… Feel better?" Alphys stuttered out, and I nodded.

"Yeah." I said simply, rubbing my eyes. "Monster food heals humans."

"T-That's good!" She stuttered out. I didn't meet her gaze. I couldn't.

She stayed quiet, shuffling awkwardly out of the room while I stared down at the tiles on the floor. I'm not entirely confident in how long I sat there, but I know that, after a while, Sans came into the room, looking sympathetic. He scratched the back of his head.

"Hey," He greeted, sitting on the chair next to the bed like an awkward stepdad. "You alright?"

"No." I answered honestly. "Monster Kid is dead. How _could_ I be okay?"

Sans grimaced at that. He was quiet for a moment, searching for the words that could make this better.

"... Well. He's not the only one who's died over the past couple of days."

My eyes slid over to him, half lidded in a 'you serious?' kind of look.

"But you can bring him back, right? You've got DETERMINATION."

I winced at that, but nodded. I wasn't sure if I could RESET with Texty's DETERMINATION, and I wasn't keen on finding out until I had to.

"Then you can fix all this." He said, laying a hand on my shoulder. "You can bring everybody back, by defeating that kid. We're counting on you."

I stayed silent.

"... Come with me." He said, laying a hand on my shoulder, the air around us pressurizing for a moment, before we reappeared in the room with the DT Extraction machine. Only, now, it was fully operational, with a canister at the crest of the dragon-headed-shaped machine's skull. The canister was glowing white, with the screens surrounding it alight with life.

**MAGIC INSERTION MACHINE**

**STATUS: OPERATIONAL**

"... You can fix this. For Monster Kid."

_*... For Monster Kid._

I looked at the machine. I looked at Sans.

It was my fault. He died because of me. My hands clenched into fists.

I was going to make this right.

I was going to win.

"**For Monster Kid."**


	4. Chapter 4: A Little Help

**Hey! In case you haven't noticed, I've kinda been updating on the off weeks that XWolf doesn't update. If you think I should update more, then uh… Let me know, I guess. **

**Disclaimers:**

**Undertale is owned by Toby Fox.**

**Doubletale is owned by XWolf26.**

* * *

"Is it gonna hurt?" I asked worriedly, looking at the Magic Insertion Machine. Sans simply shrugged. I grimaced, looking at the maw of the dragon-headed-shaped machine.

_*Does it matter? _

I shook my head no, steeling myself.

"The machine takes the magic from that other machine over there," He explained idley, "and puts it in you. I'm not sure how powerful you become, but however powerful it is…"

"You may just be strong enough to defeat them."

The machine glowed, the maw of the machine opening and beginning to start up. I looked at it dead-on, my heart thumping in my chest.

_*Hold fast my DETERMINATION._

In the next instant, a beam of white washed over me, tearing through my body and SOUL alike. It pierced my body, my heart, my mind, every part of my being.

But… It didn't hurt. It didn't burn, it didn't even sting.

It felt.

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

**A Little Help**

"_They've fought her a hundred times. And they've always won in the end."_

* * *

When it abruptly stopped, I blinked in confusion. I turned my head from side to side, inky blackness totally surrounding me. Paper-like constructs of memories floated around me, surrounding me. I felt a presence within me, most likely whoever Texty's true identity was.

People, places, a swirling collection of feelings and emotions. I gulped.

A girl with shoulder-length, black hair, and piercing red eyes.

A boy, dressed in an oversized scarf with ink splattered on his face.

… and four figures, red-hot DETERMINATION exuding from them, as well as overwhelming hatred.

I'm not sure from where, but a Froggit hopped from the corners of my vision, and I blinked in confusion. "Oh. Hi..?"

The Froggit blankly gazed up at me.

"You wouldn't happen to know where I'm supposed to go, would you…?"

"Ribbit." The Froggit responded, before beginning to hop somewhere. I stared at it, before following closely behind.

_*You should probably keep your head down. These memories seem…_

Texty didn't need to finish the thought. I kept walking, keeping my gaze focused squarely on Froggit.

"Any conversation topics?" I joked at the Froggit, but it stayed quiet. I frowned.

_*It doesn't seem like a conversationalist._

I rolled my eyes, focusing on walking. We walked for what seemed like ages, literally lost in my own thoughts.

A fluffy, white hand outstretched itself to the Froggit. I stopped myself, looking up to meet the eyes of Toriel. Behind her, a playback of me watching her die played, causing me to grimace.

She seemed to pay it no mind, smiling kindly at me. "Welcome, my Child. It is good to finally meet you."

"H-.. How do you do?" I stuttered awkwardly, before wincing.

_*She's dead. Carter._

Her smile transformed into a sad frown, kneeling before me. "I know of the weight that's been placed on your shoulders, My Child…" She placed her hand on my shoulder.

"I apologize. If it had not been for my weakness, for my attachment to that… _Thing._" Her eyes slid to the side. "... You would not be here today."

"I feel the least I can do," She started, holding one hand in front of her, a magic fireball coming forth in her palm, "To gift your SOUL with my power."

I watched, my eyes wide, as Toriel disappeared. Tears dotted my eyes as all that was left of her was her fire, her _power._ It was soft, golden, pure.

Slowly, I reached out to the ball of flames. It did not give off much heat, allowing me to gently cup it in my hands. Slowly, the fire spread from my hand, down to the ground, spreading slowly. I watched in awe as the fire became harder, rougher, spreading into a liquid, magma-like substance. It swirled, gathering in my hand as a ball of pure lava.

_*You made it your own._

* * *

My eyes slowly opened.

I leaned against the wall of the lab, propped up unsteadily. The ground around me seemed to be warm, almost to the touch. I could feel it surrounding me, but it didn't feel uncomfortable in the slightest. It felt… Natural.

I reached up my palm. I didn't need to focus, didn't need to _think, _before lava came spilling out of the sleeve of my jacket, gathering in a ball in my hands.

"You can control it, that's good." Sans spoke, looking at my hand. "Lava creation and manipulation. That's some pretty intense power, kid."

I grinned hopefully.

Sans began prepping the next container, and I stood shakily.

"We should hurry this along. The lil' shitstain's already mostly through Hotland, so we need to be quick." Sans looked at me. "It'll take me about an hour to get the next container of magic set up. It needs to be extracted and everything. I suggest you get some rest before we move on."

I nodded, stumbling out of the corridor, into the room with the beds. I flopped on the first one I saw.

* * *

"So you're a kind human!" Papyrus said, and I felt my heart melt a little.

"It's nice to finally meet you." I said, grinning sheepishly. "Genuinely."

He grinned, his eyes sparkling. "Ohoh! So I have a fan! It's nice to know!"

I grinned too. It was contagious. Papyrus knelt down before me, summoning a handful of bones in front of him, in an X shape. "Listen, Human. When you do battle with the other Human,"

He began disappearing, vanishing into the magic.

"Please, use a little MERCY."

I frowned, reaching out to the bones. They became two spikes of rock, and I looked to them.

". . ."

_*You made it your own._

* * *

"Aw, jeez." I stated as I sat up, groggily rubbing my eyes, stepping off the bed. I only got a little up before I collapsed right back down.

"Right, okay. Standing not an option."

I sat there quietly. I contemplated yelling for help, but they were probably setting up the next canister of magic. I groaned, sitting back on the bed and rubbing my forehead.

_*You haven't been this tired since you tried out for the Track Team._

I raised an eyebrow at texty. "How do you know about that…?"

_*I was there._

"Well that's not creepy at all." I stated simply. Before I could think about it any more, Sans poked his head out of the corner of the Hallway.

"You ready?"

I took a sharp breath in, forcing my sore body to sit up, grimacing as I stumbled a little.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good. Let's go." I stumbled over to Sans, who either didn't notice my body practically crumbling or didn't care. We started towards the Magic Insertion Machine.

"Shouldn't you be in the Judgement Hall by now…?" I questioned.

Sans grinned. "I got someone to cover me."

* * *

Grillby flung Chara's limp body into a nearby pillar, knocking them back down to 1 HP _again._ It was almost like he wasn't even TRYING to kill them. They growled, charging, Grillby sidestepping Chara easily and tripping them, forcing them to trip over themselves.

"God. DAMMIT." They yelled, stuffing their face with various monster foods as they charged back at Grillby. He simply pushed up his glasses.

* * *

Undyne looked at me, frowning. "Monsterkind's fate, left in the hands of a human?"

I grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I know…" I gulped, looking at Undyne. "Kind of ironic, right?"

Undyne sighed. "I may not be happy about it, but…" She summoned one of her spears. "From one here to the next."

I nodded. As I grabbed the handle of the spear, she began to vanish, before grinning that iconic Undyne grin.

"Make sure you PUMMEL 'EM for me, alright?"

I nodded, taking the spears. They became plumes of fire, an extension of my previous lava powers. Cool.

_*You made it your own._

. . .

_Uh, shouldn't this be the part where I'm whisked back to reality?_

"YO!"

My heart skipped a beat as I whipped my head towards the voice, the small form of Monster Kid bounding into my chest.

"M-MK!" I said, stumbling over my words. "Y-You're…"

I wrapped my arms around him, grinning goofily at the fact that he was _here._

"I-I… I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"It's okay, Carter." MK said, pulling away from the hug, his own tears at the corners of his eyes. "I knew you wouldn't just _let_ me die."

"But I knew I had to help you beat them," He continued, slowly growing. My eyes widened. His form grew bigger, and bigger, forming a large shadow above me. He was multiple times my size, and I gulped in slight fear.

"And I think I know how…" He stated, his voice deeper as his new, large, dragon form towered over me. He was so much _bigger_ than I was.

"Kick that bad guy's butt, Carter." He said, his form slowly turning golden as his magic rained down on me. My body glowed slightly.

"Thank, you, MK…" I said.

_*For Monster Kid._

* * *

Asgore slowly raised his head at Grillby's fight, sounds of roaring fire overtaking the Judgement Hall. He frowned.

"That can't be good for my flowers…" He grumbled, watering them a little more.

"Sorry about that, Your Majesty."

Asgore raised his eyebrows, turning to see Sans propping Carter's limp body on the Throne, creating a rather weak image as he was dwarfed by the rather large throne that just seemed _wrong_ with him occupying it.

"This is the human..?" Asgore questioned, and Sans nodded his head.

"He may not look like much, but…" Sans looked to him, his eyelights seeming brighter than normal. "He's powerful. Much more so than any monster in the underground."

"Is it enough?" Asgore questioned.

The smoke from the other room began to die down. Grillby was gone.

"It's gonna have to be." Sans stated, grabbing Asgore's shoulder. "We've gotta go."

Asgore nodded. The room pressurized for a moment, before the two vanished.

My eyes slowly drifted open. The bright golden flowers of the Throne Room pierced my eyes, causing me to wince. I slowly got up from the Throne, sliding off with a stagger.

Footsteps.

I took a deep breath, staring at the doorway with my crimson eyes. I shook out my nerves.

_*Here comes the final battle, Carter. Are you ready?_

"Nope." I said out loud. I looked to the Throne.

_*A legacy to live up to. A representation of the Monsters you're trying so hard to save._

I turned back, and there they were. Chara. Locked in Frisk's body. They grinned.

"Oh, it's _about time._" They said, brandishing their knife. The true knife.

"Hold up, Chara." I stopped them. They raised an eyebrow. "I've got a few words to say."

They frowned. "Then get a move on. I don't have all day."

I shrugged. "You've probably got a lot longer than that." They put one foot forward. "Okay! I get it, okay."

I took a deep breath. "Look. We both know how this is going to go down, right? We fight each other, over and over… Who knows how long."

I looked off to the side. "Possibly forever. But…" My eyes slid back to them, "It doesn't have to be that way, does it? We can just… RESET."

"We can go back, we can be friends."

They smiled. Then they laughed. Harder, and harder and harder until they were doubled over. I rolled my eyes, saving. Clearly this wasn't gonna get through to them.

"Oh, Carter. I'm in far too deep to give up now." They saved too.

I sighed. "Alright, fine. Have it your way."

I stomped. Lava poured from my pant leg at a rapid pace, setting fire to the poor, beautiful flowers.

Their eyes widened. I grimaced as I flicked my hand towards them, flooding the entire throne room with lava.

"Just remember…" I stated, allowing them to drown in the burning liquid.

"You had your chance."

Shatter.

**Flash.**


	5. Chapter 5: Too Weak, Too Fragile

**Hey, I don't exactly have much to say, here, so enjoy!**

**Undertale belongs to Toby Fox.**

**DoubleTale belongs to XWolf26.**

* * *

"God damn, Chara-" I said, swiftly sidestepping one of their slashes, "You seem to be struggling."

Chara reeled back their foot, flinging it forward and sending their shin colliding into my leg. I screamed, buckling over as they brought their fist back, summoning the Tough Glove, slamming their fist into my face.

My nose burst into blood as I stumbled backwards, holding my poor, busted nose. Chara tapped their feet, summoning their Ballet Shoes, jumping into the air and slashing down at me.

My body moved without my consent, hopping backwards, just out of the way of the stab. My eyes flicked over to my health bar.

**5/19.**

My hand drifted out, summoning a piece of Butterscotch-Cinnamon pie, shoving it into my face without my consent. My eyes glared at Chara.

_*Mind if I take over for a while?_

If I had control over my eyes, I would've rolled them.

_Shoot for it._

Texty grinned, stomping on the ground and summoning what looked like a large granite toothpick. They assumed a battle stance, their hands gripped closely together on the two-sided spear of rock like it was a Bo Staff, their legs spread wide apart, favoring to balance my weight on their back leg.

Chara lifted an eyebrow. They flicked their knife out to the side, charging at my body full speed ahead.

Texty lifted their front leg up, stomping on the ground and summoning a wave of lava that came up to Chara's waist, Chara leaping over it with ease. Texty twirled their new staff, rapidly throwing the front end upward, sending several large spires of rock straight up at Chara.

Chara simply wrapped their hand around one of the sharp spires, ignoring the sizzling sound that came from it, spinning around on the spire of rock and firing themselves off of the rock, bringing up that knife.

Texty, surprised, took a step back as Chara rocketed at them, before I took over once again. I ditched the staff, bringing out my Pocket Knife and slashing at Chara with it, the target hitting true as I slashed right along Chara's left eye. They screamed, plummeting to the ground just behind me. Taking the opportunity, I flung my arm into the air, a stalagmite firing from the ground, piercing right through Chara's chest. Their SOUL raised from their body.

Shatter.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Too Weak, Too Fragile**

"_**... I don't want to die…"**_

* * *

Flash.

I grinned with no real mirth, looking at Chara with shockingly tired eyes. Despite my ruby eyes, my soul was purple. I couldn't keep this up forever. I mean, I had Texty to help, but with no DETERMINATION of my own…

I shook my head. "Should I start keeping count?" I asked cockily, stomping on the ground, a large baseball-esque scoreboard made of rock appearing to my left.

**CARTER - 2**

**CHARA - 0**

I looked at them, sweat dripping down the side of my head with a tired grin plastered on my face. Chara shook their head, sighing.

"You're boring, Carter." They said bluntly. "I thought I'd actually be in for a fight, but look at you. You're already sweating, and you've only killed me twice."

I frowned. "And? There's gotta be more to that, right?"

They shrugged. "I mean, it took Sans at least seven or eight times before I got anywhere close to him struggling. You're weak."

I frowned, glowering at them. "I'm not _weak._"

They laughed. "Oh REALLY? Carter, you've gained no LOVE, absorbed no SOULs. Your body is just as weak as it was when we fell in." They slowly lifted their knife, pointing at me with it. "And as a bonus, your Health maxes out at nineteen, like a _weakling._"

My frown slowly turned into a scowl, anger boiling up inside me.. "... Shut up."

"Or WHAT?" They yelled. "You'll kill me? How many more times, then? Five? Ten? Eventually you'll die, Carter. And, the best part…"

Chara's eyes widened, black slowly beginning to bubble up out of their eyes, their grin becoming unnaturally wide.

"_You don't even have the DETERMINATION to come back."_

Anger began to spill over. My chest tightened as my jaw clenched harshly, the knuckles gripping my knife turning white. That red-hot feeling in my chest bubbled more.

I screamed, lava exploding out from my feet as I used it to rocket myself forward, screaming as I brought back that knife to stab them.

Then, nothing. My vision went black as Chara was able to shove their knife through my skull.

Shatter.

* * *

"_Hey Carter!" I looked up, the warmest smile I'd ever seen on a human greeting me. A warm feeling flooded through me. _

_She was so beautiful, I remember thinking. Her beautifully short-cut, dark hair, her tender skin…_

_Her beautiful, crimson eyes. _

_She was the most wonderful thing about my day. So, when I saw her enter my humble little carshop, I couldn't help but goofily grin._

"_Hey, Emily!"_

* * *

Flash.

"... What?" Chara seemed baffled as I regained my consciousness. "This… Doesn't make sense…"

"It shouldn't, Chara." I said, sitting up, my pure purple SOUL sitting on the right side of my chest. A permanent reminder that I lacked DETERMINATION.

"I'm not sure how, or why," I explained, summoning lava from my sleeve, allowing it to pool around my wrist and upper arm like a cast.. I pointed my arm at Chara, aiming it like my arm was a blaster, pointing it straight at Chara, one arm bracing it. "But I have someone on my side, willing to bring me back to my feet when I fall."

"And they want to say something to you."

Chara growled, not bothering to answer my question.

"They say **Eat This, Bitch.**" I growled, opening fire, lava pouring out in a rigid stream, right at Chara's face. They ducked out of the way, hopping over a batch of spikes that had appeared under their feet. The lava stream stopped, and I raced at them with my knife in hand. Our two blades clashed, both of our ruby eyes locking.

"That was pretty dramatic, Carter." They said, pushing against my knife. I grinned.

"I've been told I'm dramatic a lot." I shifted control over to Texty, who jumped over Chara, summoning their Bo Staff and driving it through Chara's shoulder. They howled.

"I, however-" Texty said, summoning a pillar of magma just behind us, "- am MUCH more efficient."

Chara turned their head, eyes widening as lava slammed down on them, coating them in the liquid-hot magma, turning their body to a crisp.

Shatter.

* * *

Flash.

I hopped back as pure DETERMINATION bullets fired from an empty gun at me. I dipped behind the Throne, taking a moment to gulp down some much-needed air.

_*Carter, are you okay?!_

I gasped, taking a shaky step to my feet. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good." I said aloud, listening to the bullets uselessly clang against the giant chair. "I just don't think I'm built for this…"

_*Do you need me to take over?_

I shook my head. "No, I've got this one." I said, stomping on the ground, creating a shield made of granite from effectively nowhere. I took a deep breath, and ran out from behind my cover, my shield up towards Chara.

Almost immediately, I felt the bullets embedding themselves in that shield. If I was going to get anywhere, I was going to need to get them to stop _firing at me._

I stomped my foot in the general direction of Chara, several stalagmites summoning from the ground. They rolled out of the way of the multitude of spikes that would've skewered them, and I took the opportunity to whip around, using as much force as I could to fling my shield at them like I was Captain America.

… It flew uselessly past them, their eyes naturally following it. I let out a breath, pretending it was intentional as I charged at them. They opened fire, but I was able to duck under their bullets, swiftly grabbing their arm and raising it into the air, using my free hand to grab their chin.

I hesitated for only a moment, but it was enough time for them to get their True Knife into their free hand, slashing upward and between my arms, forcing a deep cut into my chest. My eyes widened in pain, and they used their foot to kick me off them, my body immediately slamming into the throne, knocking it onto it's back. I tried to breath, only for a gargle of blood to come up from my throat.

My eyes sluggishly moved upward, looking at Chara in some of the most intense pain I've ever been in. They summoned the Empty Gun, pointing it directly at my head. There was nothing I could do.

They grinned.

"If you're smart…"

"**You won't come back.**"

BANG.

Shatter.

* * *

I took a minute to catch my breath on the loading screen. Despite the fact that every other time I've died, I've come back immediately, I had to mentally prepare myself for the next load. I rubbed my hands on my astral face.

"Jesus Christ…" I said, shaking my head.

_*Carter, we're only five rounds in! We can't give up now!_

"I know, _I know!_" I snapped. "I just… Need a minute. We need a game plan."

_*... Like what?_

I shook my head. "I… I don't know. They're so much smarter, so much _stronger_ than us."

_*..._

I sighed, running a hand through my excessively curly hair. It had gotten longer since we came into the underground, an unkempt mess. No wonder Chara wasn't even intimidated.

I shook my head quickly. "We'll figure it out later. We need to keep going, for now.."

I pressed my hand on the LOAD button.

* * *

Flash.

"Took you long enough." Chara gloated. "I was beginning to think I should just go ahead and go to the border!"

I grinned with no real joy. "Gee, that would've been a shame now, right?"

Chara rolled their eyes, gripping their knife harder. They put one foot forward, and sweat beaded down my back, forcing my shirt to stick uncomfortably. They rocketed at me, and I was able to twist around them just as they came at me, but my foot slipped, causing me to eat dirt - Literally.

Chara took the opportunity, plunging their knife into my back.

Shatter.

* * *

Flash.

"You wanna bring up that scoreboard again?"

I grimaced, holding one arm out.

**CARTER - 3**

**CHARA - 9**

I grimaced in embarrassment. My body wasn't keeping up anymore - I didn't have the strength to hold on much longer. My breath was heavy.

Chara laughed. "Oh, what was it you said? 'Eat this, bitch?'" They cackled, throwing their head back in laughter. "Looks like YOU'RE the one eating shi-"

Suddenly, a spike of rock shot through their skull. Their SOUL drifted up from their body, and I scrambled across the Throne Room to grab it. My fingers Sweat beaded down my face as I desperately held the SOUL together, preventing it from breaking.

_*... You can't keep that up forever._

"I… I know." I said weakly, my breath heavy. "I just… I just need a few minutes to catch my breath."

I slumped forward, my eyelids heavy as my body tried to pull me into unconsciousness. I couldn't fall asleep, though, or I'd lose my grip, and they'd reload, and they'd be _back._

I let a breath through my nose, trying to stay steady. I don't think I've ever felt this weak before.

It didn't take long before my efforts at staying awake failed, and I drifted into a lulled sleep.

Shatter.

* * *

The few remaining monsters watched the fight, nervous glances being shared around the room. There weren't many left; a family of bunny-like monsters, a handful of spiders, Asgore, Alphys, and Sans.

The aforementioned skeleton watched the screen with the humans nervously, a bead of sweat running down his forehead. He couldn't watch the newer Human die, not now, not when he'd gotten so _close_ to escaping the RESETs. His teeth ground together as he watched Chara's SOUL rise from their chest. Carter was barely keeping up, but Chara was still going strong.

He began walking away from the small group of monsters, eyelights missing from his eyes.

"S-Sans? Where are you going?"

Sans turned back to the lizard monster, that grin small on his face. Alphys approached him, worry evident in her eyes as she approached the skeleton.

"Y-You can't go there, you're too weak, you'll-"

"So is he." He stated simply, looking back to the screen. Carter was losing consciousness, now, his grip on Chara's SOUL slipping. "If I don't go out there, he'll die. Same as everyone else before him."

He winked at Alphys. "Don't worry. I'll still be around."

Alphys frowned, watching Sans walk away. Her tears welled up as Asgore placed a hand on her shoulder, the two watching Sans warp out of existence.

Shatter.

* * *

Flash.

My eyes snapped back open at Chara, who looked at me with an annoyed frown on their face. I grinned sheepishly.

"I don't know if you've ever experienced it, but having your SOUL physically pressed together is pretty uncomfortable." They cracked, and I nervously smiled.

"H-.. Heheh…" I laughed weakly, barely able to stay on my feet. "I-It can't be any worse… Than having it split apart… Right?"

I laughed, dropping to my knees. My health wasn't low or anything, but my body was _exhausted._ Slowly, the SOUL on my chest began cracking.

_*CARTER!_

"O-Oh, would you look at that…" I quipped, reaching up to my own SOUL. "I.. I guess I didn't have enough DETERMINATION after all, huh…?"

Chara looked on in quiet contempt, watching as the other presence in my body was keeping my SOUL together at all costs.

"I-I…" I looked up to the roof of the Throne Room, feeling the sunlight from the windows around us beam on my face, contrasting nicely with the darkness up above. We were _so close._

"**... I don't want to die…"** I weakly said, a weak hope that it would somehow bring back the DETERMINATION I'd lost.

Then, as I could've swore my SOUL was about to finally give up, the room pressurized. Something _changed._

I looked in front of me, seeing a skeleton standing there, dressed in a blue jacket and sandals.

"S-... Sans?" I asked weakly, and he held out his hand. I looked at it. In it, he held his SOUL. It was a dim, upside-down heart, definitely not strong, but… It would save me. I growled at myself.

"I-... I can't take this…" I whispered, my eyes slowly dimming as death was about to take me.

"Too bad." Sans said, his eyes missing, his teeth grinding together. "I'm not letting this continue. You're too weak, and you can't stand this. Literally."

My eyes widened as Sans reared his arm back.

"So you're taking this, whether you like it or not."

He slammed his SOUL into my own.

In a brilliant flash of light, two souls become one.

In an instant, neither Carter nor Sans stood there. In an instant, a new life was born.

"Well well, Chara.." Our voice spoke, and Chara's eyes widened despite the brilliant light.

The light died down, showing us, _me,_ standing there, a grin slapped silly on our gaunt face. While one eye remained that brilliant red, the other eye's sclera was a deep black, a single, white pupil shining gently. My curly hair turned shorter, now framing my face instead of nearly encompassing it. I flexed my new body, a bone arm replacing the left, and a human arm remaining on the right. The bottom of my jacket was now a blue, the top remaining black and one large, red stripe stretched across the whole thing. Instead of my jeans, I had a pair of long sweatpants on.

"Meet…"

I cracked my neck, saving quickly. Chara did the same.

"**The Comic."**


	6. Chapter 6: The Comic

**Man, I just realized I haven't been thanking the people who have been reviewing. I guess I should make an addendum to that, huh?**

**Thanks goes out to TimeBlade, Andyfire123, Skele, Guest, saika here (lol), Fixer140.85, Chara Moonstone, and CrystalGamer82.**

**Enjoy The Comic's first chapter as The Comic!**

**Undertale belongs to Toby Fox.**

**Doubletale belongs to XWolf26.**

* * *

"_Ugh…"_

_I sat up slowly, holding my pounding head in some sort of Dark Alley, a cloud of smoke hanging above our heads ominously. My back felt like it had been slammed in by a goddamn battering ram. Why did it…?_

… _Oh. The building was collapsing on me. That's why._

"_Hey!" I jumped at the sound of that voice, looking to see a boy two or three years older than me, crouching and watching me with eagle-eyed, KIND eyes. I tried to scramble away, only for something in my hip to spaz, and I jerked harshly._

"_Be careful, you don't want to hurt yourself more." He said, holding his hands out so as to catch me if I fell over._

"_What… Happened?" I asked quietly, wincing as I tried to stand up. My body gave out as I barely got off the ground, and I landed flat on my ass._

"_Oh! Your building burned down, and I, uh…" He glanced to the side, a small bead of sweat running down his forehead. "'Found' you and got you out."_

"_Oh… Uh…" I cleared my throat. "... Thanks. I'm Carter." I held out my hand, and he shook it excitedly. _

"_Carter, huh? That's a nice name!" He beamed excitedly at me, and I only just realized he was covered in paint, a large glob of paint across the left cheek, and a long paintbrush tucked behind his ear, with a coffee-colored trench coat hanging from his shoulders. He looked like someone who just got home from a dayjob as a painter, not a heroic seventeen year-old. I blinked at his odd appearance, but either he didn't notice or didn't care._

"_I'm The Creationist!"_

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Comic**

"_Hey, us screw-ups gotta stick together."_

* * *

I dipped out of the side of a slash, my newly conglomerated mind trying to make sense of the newly acquired memories that made up both halves of my whole. It was weird, having two different minds operating simultaneously. It was like having two voices in your head, operating as you worked, but you were still your own entity. It wasn't something I was entirely unused too, thanks to Texty, but it was also something that I found odd.

My body blipped out of existence for a moment as I reappeared behind Chara, (_Woah, I can do that?!) _I threw my arm into the air, calling upon Carter's (my?) magic as large stalagmites stabbed up at them. They, as predicted, had leaped out of the way, and I tapped into Sans's magic, summoning a Gaster Blaster right in their path. Smirking, I allowed it to fire, white-hot magic firing from the Blaster. Experienced with the magic, of course, Chara was able to twist out of the way, summoning their Empty Gun and pointing at me. My eyes widened, throwing up my skeletal hand and summoning a small wall of bones to block their shots.

_*... Carter? Are you there?_

I nodded, the grin around my mouth relaxing as my muscles tensed more with stress as more bullets slammed against the bones I was hiding behind.. "... Yeah. I think so."

_*so this is what it's like on the other side._

Another Textbox, this time written in Comic Sans. Guess I knew who that was. I allowed my mind to blur the line between us two, and my grin widened slightly. I leapt out from behind the wall, summoning a set of bones in my hands as I twisted around and flung them at Chara. They were able to crouch underneath, but the analytical part of our combined mind was able to predict that, and I threw up my human hand, summoning lava from the ground. It only got up halfway up their feet before they were able to hop up from the ground, landing on the arm of Asgore's Throne, their balance weak from their scorched feet.

I growled, throwing up my human hand and summoning another Gaster Blaster, allowing it to fire. However, this time, instead of firing a laser beam, it fired a stream of lava straight at Asgore's throne. Chara howled in pain, and as I stopped the beam, I teleported behind them, summoning a bone thicker than their arm with a pointed tip and shoving it through their abdomen.

Chara spat up blood, their SOUL rising from their chest.

Shatter.

* * *

Flash.

They began charging immediately after they respawned, wearing both the ballet shoes and a Tough Glove. As they leapt into the air, I made a split-second decision, reaching out with a skeletal hand and grabbing their SOUL with magic. They glanced down as it shifted to blue, before I threw my hand up, their entire body slamming into the ceiling. I sat on the throne, cockily grinning up at them.

"You seem to be having some trouble," I taunted, my voice a pitch or two deeper than what it was before, "It's almost as if murdering a whole civilization full of people was a bad idea."

They growled, trying to wiggle out of my grasp. They could still move their arms and legs, they just almost seemed to be pinned by their SOUL pressing up against their chest, which I had to imagine was super uncomfortable.

_*damn. you ain't playin' fair at all._

_*Oh, don't you go acting all high and mighty. You do the same shit._

I sighed at those two. I guess that was something I was going to have to get used to.

Chara struggled against the weight of their own SOUL, bracing their legs against the ceiling. They reached up, wrapping their fingers around their SOUL, before beginning to rear it back like it was a baseball.

"What are you-?"

They flung their SOUL at me, rearing back with that tough glove glove as my eyes widened. I was able to shift my head to the left, losing my grip on the SOUL as they landed on the throne just above me.

I cocked my legs into my chest, their eyes widening as I slammed my feet into their abdomen, sending them rocketing across the throne room. My eyes widen at my own strength.

I watch as their SOUL rises into the air.

Shatter.

* * *

The Man Who Speaks in hands leered over the tear in reality, watching the two humans fight, the two crashing against each other like the world was on the line. It really was, he supposed.

He grinned to himself, a little bit more of him reforming in a steam of red. Eventually, after all is said and done, he'd be _himself_ again. And that, he thought, sounded amazing.

But that wasn't his only plan, no no no. He had much bigger plans for his world, and for the people that inhabited it.

_Unfortunately, I cannot become fully whole without the piece from Sans. Hm..._

His skull misted red as his head solidified more, and he gave the rift in spacetime another grin.

_No matter. In the meantime, I can gather the rest of the pieces I need. _

_It will all come together soon, Humans…_

_So soon._

* * *

Flash.

I grinned, pulling up my inventory and spawning the Tough Glove I stole from Snowdin and pulling it over my fist with a grin.

"Looks like I won't even need to fight you with magic." I said, pulling my hands up to my face and stepping back into a fighting stance. Chara lifted an eyebrow, and I grinned as they sprinted at me with the Real Knife.

I stepped to the side, putting out one foot and tripping them. They regained their balance quickly, growling as they swung at me again. I used my arm to catch the swing, twisting them around and palming their back with enough force to throw them to the ground. I grinned wildly, stepping on their arm and slowly putting pressure on it. They grunted in discomfort as I reached down, plucking their knife out of their grip, straightening out before throwing it so hard it stuck into one of the walls of the Throne Room.

"Sorry, Chara. Haven't you heard?" I winked, stepping off their arm. Chara slowly stood up. "Don't bring knives to a fistfight."

Chara looked at me, before summoning their own Tough Glove.

"Bring it on." They said, and I grinned, taking a step and throwing out a jab. They swiftly dodged out of the way, trying to retaliate with a punch of their own, only for me to catch it with ease, twisting their arm hard enough to create a small gust of wind. Needless to say, they howled as their arm broke under my grip.

"You mother-" They growled, twisting and throwing a hook kick, landing it right across my temple. I grunted, holding my now-bleeding head as Chara shoved their face full of Snowbunny. Their arm rapidly twisted back into place as I glared at them, DETERMINATION gleaming in my eye for what felt like the first time in forever. I reveled in the feeling for a moment, cocking back my fist and slamming it into their cheek.

Chara caught it with their face, sending them reeling for only a moment as they whipped back three times as hard, cracking my nose and sending me reeling backward.

"Alright, enough of this." I growled, grabbing their shirt and whipping around, flinging them into the other side of the Throne Room. They tried to get up, but I was on them in a second, slamming their head into my knee. Chara howled in pain as I placed my foot on their chest, grabbing them by their hair and slamming it, as hard as I could, into the wall. I heard their skull crack, but I was nowhere near done.

Grabbing them by the neck, I shitwhipped them back into the ground, kicking up dust around us. I summoned a spear of rock in my hand, stepping on their arm and forcing it through the palm of their hand.

They growled at me, summoning their empty gun and pointing it right at my face. I took a step back to dodge it, but that left me open for Chara to kick my right in the groin. I groaned, stumbling to my knees, my insides feeling like they tightened around a burning coil of fire.

Chara took the opportunity to rip the spire of rock out of their hand, whipping around and aiming that revolver at my head. I lifted one hand, summoning a Gaster Blaster just behind them, pointed at the both of us. Their eyes widened

"But.. You'll die too-?!"

I grinned.

The familiar sound blared as the white light of the Blaster consumed us.

Shatter.

* * *

_It's quiet. _

_My body moves on its own in the dark room. My eyes shift without my consent as I stare up at the ceiling. I sit up, looking at my own hands._

… _They're skeletal?_

_I sigh, swinging my legs off my resting spot in… A lab? Despite my confusion, there was no hesitation as the body that wasn't mine took a few steps out of the hall, adjusting the lab coat that adorned my shoulders so as to look as if I'd been awake the entire time._

_I waved to a couple of fellow scientists that were walking along the halls - There didn't seem to be that many, but they did seem to be in some sort of a rush. I wasn't able to get many good looks at them - My eyes refused to actually look over to them - But I did see one that was a giant, blue and yellow striped bird with a head so big that it constantly looked like they were about to topple over. My body stepped out of the way of the bird - I assume to avoid crashing into the monster - and I kept walking._

_My hand adjusted a set of glasses that had adorned my face, stepping into a rather large section of the lab. It was a huge area of space, equipment lining a large, open square in the middle of the room. I wasn't sure how deep the hole in the center of the floor went, but I did know that it seemed to be __glowing__. How odd._

_My body took no mind to that, however, instead opting to walk to the side of the room, typing something on a computer that would've looked old if it was in the 1980's. Big, thick keys with a square monitor, green lines of text that all seemed to blur together in my eyes, despite the fact that my body seemed intent on focusing on the lines of code as I typed something on the keys._

_A hand laid on my shoulder, and my body looked up to who had placed it there. He was a taller skeleton in a lab coat, his eyes looking down at me in some kind of… Comfort? At least, they attempted to be comforting, but something felt off-. _

_One thing I did take note of, however, was the large crack running down from his left eye._

"_Hey Gaster." A voice spoke, and it took a moment to realize that it was coming from me as I turned back to keep working._

"_Hello, Sans." He greeted me. I was mildly surprised, but I figured that it made sense, considering the situation. "How's work coming along?"_

"_Slow." Sans responded, typing away at something that I couldn't quite make out. "The CORE has been functioning fine so far, but there's a way to optimize just how much power it's putting out. I think if we reinforce the infrastructure of the energy converter, we might be able to increase output by-"_

"_Sans." Gaster interrupted. "I think you need to calm down. There's no rush to squeeze more power out of the CORE than necessary. Keep in mind just how unstable it really is."_

_Sans sighed, looking down. I think this was the most I've ever seen him express. "I know. Just… I feel like we need to help __more__. We need to keep the Underground moving, and… I think, we may just be able to break the-"_

_A loud ringing came from seemingly nowhere, and Sans glanced over to what seemed to be a landline phone, hooked up directly to the wall. Confused, Gaster crossed over to it, picking it up and holding it to his ear._

"_Yes…? Oh, King Asgore! How are y-" He was interrupted on the other side, and I felt the worry grow in Sans's heart. Gaster's face slowly fell. "But… Isn't that a good thing? We have another, now, we can-..." Another couple seconds, and Gaster nodded solemnly. "Yes… Yes, of course I can. I can try, at the very least." He took a shaky breath, before saying his good-byes and hanging up._

"_Gaster? What was that about?" Sans crossed to Gaster, worried. Gaster smiled weakly down at Sans._

"_Don't worry, I'll be back soon. I've just gotta take care of something for King Asgore." He stated, walking away. _

_Sans tried to follow. "But, wait, why did he call? Why do you need to-?"_

_He tried to continue after Gaster turned a corner, but…_

_**He was already gone.**_


	7. Chapter 7: An Ending

Flash.

_*You feel as if you've been at this for awhile._

I glanced at the scoreboard.

**COMIC - 50**

**CHARA - 65**

Texty was right - We'd been fighting constantly since we got here, with hardly any actual dialogue between the two (three? four?) of us. I held out one hand, holding Chara in their place with INTEGRAL Magic. They raised an eyebrow at me.

I yawned, sitting on that throne and staring at them with some contempt. "Sorry, man, I just-" I yawned again, "Think we need a little time to chat. Y'know, catch up? We've barely spoken since we started brawling."

"Not a whole lot to talk about." They spat back at me, "I've been too busy trying to kill you for the last hundred and fifteen runs."

I shrugged. "I guess. But, I dunno, I guess I could ask how you're doing? Or, more accurately…"

I glanced to the side. "How's Frisk?"

Chara stayed quiet for a moment, before closing their eyes and taking a deep breath. As their eyes reopened, I could see it..

I grinned. "How are ya, buddy?"

Frisk grimaced, looking me up and down. Only then did I realize that they probably didn't see my whole Fusion Dance with Sans.

"... Pretty terrible.." They said honestly, scratching the back of their head. "... Tired." They said.

I smiled sympathetically, stepping off Asgore's Throne and crossing the little garden of flowers, stopping when I was directly across from them.

"Hey, it's alright, buddy. Once I defeat this loser, you'll get your SOUL back and you can RESET! How's that sound?"

They smiled sadly, then, and they took a step forward, hugging me.

I was a little surprised by the gesture of kindness, but… I hugged them back. It was weird, hugging someone who's killed you fifty plus times, but it felt… Nice.

Well, it did until I felt a sharp pain squarely in my spine. My eyes widened as Frisk stepped back from me, and I could see in their eyes - Control shifted back to Chara. The Demon grinned wildly, summoning the Empty Gun with a glint of DETERMINATION in their eye.

"Figured I'd repay the favor, dirtbag." They spat, summoning the Empty Gun in their hand, pressing it up against my skull.

"Get Dunked, bitch."

BANG.

Shatter.

* * *

**Chapter 7:  
An Ending.**

"_**You were so pathetic before! Just… Weak and sniveling! And look at you now!"**_

* * *

Flash.

I grimaced. "You just _had_ to kill them, didn't you?" I asked myself.

_*well, in my defense, it was them or me._

I felt a tug in the back of my mind, and I allowed Texty to take control once more, summoning their preferred weapon - the sharpened rock bow staff - and they immediately lunged at Chara.

Chara was able to deflect their weapon briefly, but all it took was Texty flipping themselves around and summoning our pocket knife to catch Chara off-guard, and our blades briefly crashed. I slipped back into control, stomping the ground and summoning a variety platter of bones and rocks to stab up at them.

They were able to flip over the spikes, and attempt to stab down at me. I grabbed them by the wrist, flipping them into a small lake of lava that I had summoned just behind me. They desperately tried to escape, but I pressed my foot into their chest, keeping them down until that SOUL rose from the lava.

Shatter.

* * *

It went on like that for a while. Chara got the upper hand for a while, but I claw back from the brink of losing with a miraculous string of wins. All in all, we were fairly evenly tied, going back and forth on who the winner would be for nearly two hundred runs. Honestly, I was unsure of when it would end… If it would end.

I mean, honestly, at a certain point it felt as if… It wouldn't. If we would be locked in this battle for an eternity. I mean, really, who would change the course? Is that why I was brought here, to… What? Fight? Stall time?

… And that's when I pieced it together. Around fight 190, I finally figured out who pulled me here. I mean, honestly, who else could it be?

_W.D. Gaster._

I mean, it made sense, right? Who else had the abilities, the prowess of the multiverse to really, truly bring me into a video game?

By run 250, it was the only hope I had that this would ever end. It was clear that they had more DETERMINATION then me, but I knew, if I could just _last_ long enough, then…

* * *

Flash.

"You know, 'Comic,'" Chara stated, stretching their arm across their chest, that knife of theirs shining in the soft light of the Throne Room.

"Going on like this forever might not be so bad, in fact…" They grinned, "I've grown quite fond of the feeling of plunging my knife into your chest."

I grimaced at that. "Eugh. Next thing you're gonna start saying that we might start liking each other."

Chara laughed at that, and I flicked open my own pocket knife. Slowly, a bone-like substance began to overtake the knife, transforming it into a sword made of bone.

"Oh, wouldn't that be something?" They questioned, red shining in their eyes as they crouched on the ground. "Me and you, actually enjoying each other's presence?"

I mimicked their stance, my blade scraping the dirt as my free hand prepared myself against the floor. Blue flickered in my left eye.

"Never gonna happen, shorty." I spat, and we flung ourselves at each other. We were gonna crash directly into each other, but then… Time slowed. Not in a dramatic sort of way, but quite literally. I could see the strands of Chara's hair race behind them in the wind as we were stuck looking at each other, eye-to-eye, as time slowed to a crawl.

_*What's going on?!_

The room pressurized, everything being sucked towards one point in the throne room, as if a miniature black hole had appeared in the very center, the flowers themselves nearly being pulled from their roots as the room creaked under the stress of the power beginning to coalesce in the center of the room.

_*wait… i recognize this magic…_

Then, the world flipped to negative for a moment, before the point in the room everything was being sucked towards exploded in a sheer showcase of power, blowing Chara back into the Judgement Hall and myself directly into the Throne, knocking it over as I flipped, landing on my stomach.

**-7.**

"How did _that_ knock out so much HP…?" I questioned, slowly getting to my feet, my eyes slowly sliding up towards the center of the room.

There he stood, in a long, black lab coat and neatly pressed white button up. He had a tie wrapped around his collar, and glasses over his eyes, a crack in his skull running from his right eye to the top of his head, and a similar crack running from the bottom of his left eye to the bottom of his chin. The skeletal monster looked over himself from over his own glasses.

"I'm… Back?" He laughed, running a hand over the top of his skull. "I'm _back!_"

_*The Scientist appears._

_*..._

"Haha…" I laughed, pressing my head against the tipped-over edge of the throne, sweat beading my forehead. "Oh, man… Am I glad to see you…"

Gaster's eyes widened, before he ran over to me, pressing his hand against my back.

"Oh, I had never imagined…" He said quietly, rubbing my back. I could feel his boney digits run over my clothed spine. "If I had known…"

"It's all good…" I said, grinning slightly. "Just, uh.. Let's finish this…"

Gaster nodded, a slightly DETERMINED look on his face.

"Oh you SON OF A BITCH." Chara yelled from above me, and I looked at them, exasperated. "You've got a _lot of nerve,_ showing up in the middle of my fight."

I stood shakily, grinning as Gaster lifted one hand towards them, their SOUL appearing on their chest. He did the same to me with his free hand, looking to me.

"Comic.."

He nodded at me, his eyes gleaming with DETERMINATION. "You HAVE to win!"

Our SOULs flung towards Gaster, and he caught them with the holes in his palms. It was like a jolt of lightning, and then…

* * *

My eyes snapped open.

The same void that I'd gotten my powers in surrounded me, memories that both were and weren't mine swirling around me. I sat up slowly, rubbing my head with my left hand..

… Wait, wasn't that hand supposed to be skeletal?

"Eyes up here, kid." My eyes widened at the sound of that voice, and I saw Sans, standing before me, just the same as he was before we fused.

"Oh… Right, mindscape… Two different people…" I stuttered out, slowly getting to my feet. Just in front of both myself and Sans, there they were. Lighter skin, slightly flushed cheeks and a green sweater.

"Chara."

Chara growled, summoning their knife. "Just because we're in some stupid mindscape doesn't mean I can't still beat your asses."

Sans and I looked at eachother.

"You wanna take the first hit, or should I?" He asked.

"Eh, they've wronged you way more than they've wronged me." I shrugged. "Might as well."

"HEY!" They yelled, "DON'T IGNORE ME!"

Sans opened his palm, and summoned a Gaster Blaster. Their eyes widened, that white hot light firing just passed them as they barely dodged out of the way.

I threw my own hand into the air, lava grabbing their foot and flinging them back towards me. I reared back one fist, growling as DETERMINATION began to mist off my fist.

"This one… Is for all the PEOPLE you've HURT!"

My fist slammed into their face, their nose bursting into a mess of blood as they were sent flying. I appeared behind them, pressing my index finger and thumb together.

"This one's for the world that you played like a GAME." I flicked their nose, sending an explosion of power racing away from the two of us in the mindscape as they were sent soaring into the air.

I appeared above them again, appearing to float as my face contorted in some mixture of hatred and anger as I held out one hand.

"And this one's…"

They were caught in my grasp, and I squeezed their throat with one hand as hard as I could. DETERMINATION that was both mine and not mine flaming at my knuckles. If one were to look at my SOUL at this point, they'd see a light red tint beginning to slightly overtake the purple around the edges.

"FOR _**MONSTER KID!**_"

My fist connected with their face for the last time, sending them spiraling wildly back towards Sans. He grinned, summoning a Gaster Blaster, the white light absorbing them as their eyes widened in fear.

I appeared back beside Sans, and he raised an eyebrow at me. I ignored him, though, only glaring at Chara's "body," watching as it smoked red at the edges of their form.

"I… I don't understand…" They growled, attempting to get to their hands and knees. "How did you… Beat me..?"

More smoke began to mist from them, and I could see it. I don't think they'd be able to recover from this, not naturally.

"Our will is stronger than yours, Chara." I knelt beside them, glaring at them with my own DETERMINED red eyes. "It sounds cliche, but it's true. There's nothing you can do that overpowers our will."

"H… Hah…" Their body began to mist away. "_Hahaha..!"_

And as they cackled, their SOUL turned into nothing but mist on the wind, the mist briefly passing through me. I paid it no mind, before it faded away.

I sat on the ground, watching Chara slowly disappear. It was… Weird. I was happy to watch them die, finally, but… It wasn't satisfying. As if something was missing.

Then my eyes drifted to a small cage, no larger than a small child, a different child sitting huddled inside.

"Oh, shit! Frisk!" I scrambled to my feet, before I felt a hand be placed on my shoulder.

"Wait." Sans said, keeping me in place. "Are you sure about this? I mean, they're the reason the geno runs started in the first place, if I'm not mistaken."

My eyes widened a little, at both his logistics and his terminology. I guess some of my lingo rubbed off on him.

I looked back to Frisk, huddled in a ball and looking at me with slight fear in their eyes.

"... Yeah." I said. "I believe in them."

Sans's sockets widened at that, letting go of my shoulder. I rushed over to them, grinning genuinely.

"Hey!" I greeted, grabbing the bars.

Frisk seemed taken aback by this, before they gave me their own small smile. "... Hi. You… Beat them…"

I grinned, putting on a slight show of puffing my chest out and slamming my fist into it. "Of course I did! I had a promise to keep, after all!"

Frisk's eyes widened at that, before they smiled. Genuinely. My fingers curled around the cage of DETERMINATION, allowing it to melt away into nothing. They threw their arms around me in a hug, and I returned it after only a moment of hesitation.

"Just…" My eyes slid to the side. "Don't gain LOVE again, okay…?"

I felt Frisk nod into my shoulder as consciousness returned to the three of us.

"I promise…"

* * *

My eyes groggily opened, darting around my surroundings.

_*It seems someone stayed up last night._

I chuckled at Texty's joke, sitting up and running a hand through my mess of curly blond hair, which oddly felt longer than it had in a _while._

My eyes widened at that, and I looked to my left hand. No bones.

I attempted to summon a bone in my hand, with no luck, instead summoning a shard of rock in its place.

"Ah, sorry for that."

My head snapped to the well-dressed skeleton, eyes widening as he kneeled beside me. "I only figured that you two would enjoy being in your own bodies again, no?"

I looked just past his shoulder, seeing Sans standing there with a wide grin on his face. It didn't surprise me, considering that he hadn't had a body of his own in a while.

"Uh.. Yeah." I grinned, looking at Gaster sheepishly. "It's nice to not have an exposed spine."

Gaster laughed at that, before a rustling in the flowers made Gaster turn his head, eyes shining with what seemed to be fear, and a little bit of DETERMINATION.

"Chill, G." Sans said, laying his hand against Gaster's chest. Gaster glanced at him as I walked past, chatting with Frisk as Gaster looked on in confusion.

"The kid gave Frisk's body back." He said, looking to his father. "Hope that isn't a problem."

"Of course not.." Gaster said, dropping his fighting stance and giving a slight smile. "In fact, it gives me an opportunity.."

"Carter!" He called over to me, catching my attention.

I walked over to him, a small smile on my face as Frisk trailed behind me. "What's up?" I asked, hands in my pockets, glad it was finally over.

"So, since Frisk is here to RESET instead of you, I can take you outside the Timeline for a moment." Gaster explained, and I raised an eyebrow. "That way, you can keep your magic."

I was puzzled by that, holding a hand to my chin in some minor confusion. "... Huh. I guess that makes sense."

Frisk pulled on my hood, and I looked back at them. They seemed scared of something.

"C-Carter.. Just, uh…" They glanced to the side, before their eyes darted back to me. "Just.. Be careful, okay? I don't want to RESET and then end up with you never coming back…"

I grinned, pulling them into another hug, and their eyes widened, some tears falling down their face and onto my back.

"Well, of _course_, Frisk. It won't even take long, right?"

Frisk nodded, and we pulled away from each other. Gaster opened the portal to the space between timelines, the void, and we stepped out of Time Itself.

Sans turned to Frisk, a slight amount of sweat beading on his brow. "So, uh… You gonna show me what it's like on the other side of a RESET?"

Frisk jumped at that, before they summoned their SOUL in their hands. As their fingers clasped around it, they dug their own fingers into their SOUL, allowing it to crack and shatter in their hands.

Sans's eyes widened at that, at their own… Well.

**Shatter.**

* * *

I gulped.

"Rather, uh… Intense, don't you think?" I nervously grinned, turning to Gaster.

Gaster shrugged. "You get used to it after seeing it a million times." My eyebrows raised at that, and I gulped, watching as Frisk woke up in that flower bed once again.

"So, when do I hop in?" I asked, turning towards Gaster.

"Give it a few minutes." He stated, and I watched through that riff in reality as Frisk made their way through the beginning parts of the Ruins. It wasn't anything I hadn't seen before, of course, but it was neat to watch.

"Tell me, Carter." Gaster spoke, drawing my attention. He was standing before another riff in reality, a notepad in his hands as he took notes. From my angle I couldn't see exactly what he was watching. I lifted an eyebrow. "I dragged you here because I sensed a great amount of DETERMINATION in your SOUL."

He turned back to me, his gaze shifting to me, his bright white dots piercing through me. I gulped. "Despite that fact, you are clearly not a DETERMINED Soul. Is there any reason for that?"

My heart thumped in my chest, his eyes staring me down. His eyes had me frozen in place, my feet locked firmly onto the ground. I couldn't move in that moment, not even if I wanted to.

"I, uh…" I stumbled through my words, trying to find the right words to explain what happened. I wasn't entirely sure, myself, but I had a theory. "I… Think some stuff happened to me, back in… My other world."

I shrugged. "I dunno. Some things went sideway. I was probably a DETERMINATION Soul, but now…"

I summoned my own SOUL into my hands, the purple reflecting in my red eyes. "All I can do is PERSEVERE."

Gaster closed his eyes, mulling the information over. "Then that extra SOUL inside you is one that's DETERMINED, correct?"

Suddenly a smirk crossed my face, Texty taking over. "You betcha. I love not dying."

I snickered at that, control shifting back to me.

Gaster thought over the information for a second, before he pursed his lips into a thin line. A nervous bead of sweat fell down my forehead as he crossed to me, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"Good. Then our talk is over." His face darkened, his head tilting down a little so he could look up at me. "I'll see you soon, _Comic_."

My breath caught in my throat as he shoved me, the floor dropping from beneath my feet, causing me to grasp at the air before gravity took hold, forcing me to drop into the bed of Golden Flowers. My eyes shut in pain, and as they reopened, it was difficult to focus at the brilliant brightness up above me.

I sighed, staring at the blinding light, smiling lightly. It hurt to look at, but… Somehow, it felt right. It felt _good_. I grinned up at my text box as it appeared above my head.

_*Here we go again..._

… **Shimmering petals and a bright white light.**

* * *

… **And that's the end of this first section of DoubleUnion! For now, at least. **

**I'm gonna be taking a small hiatus from this story for the time being, mostly to work on other projects. However! I'll definitely still be around, and when this story updates next, I'll be ready as Hell. **

**When that happens, some of the past chapters are also gonna be reworked, because I think I can do better on some of them, of course. Until then…**

**Wingah Flies Away!**


End file.
